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German TV station accused of Islamophobia after producing ‘Muslim Merkel’ image

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By John Glenday, Reporter

October 7, 2015 | 1 min read

German TV station ARD has come under fire after broadcasting a Photoshopped image of Angela Merkel dressed in a headscarf against a backdrop of minarets towering over the Reichstag.

 Merkel, ARD

The ‘Muslim Merkel’ montage sparked accusations of Islamophobia as viewers rushed to complain about the depiction, which was displayed during a debate on the current refugee crisis engulfing Europe.

Producers of the Newsnight-style show Report claimed that the divisive visual was intended to be satirical but this didn’t wash with many, who accused the channel of deliberately stoking racial tensions in the country.

In a statement ARD said: “We consider this satirical form of representation to be in keeping with our journalistic values. We reject any insinuation that we would operate Islamophobic propaganda.”

Some commentators pointed to similarities between the image and propaganda materials used by the anti-Islam movement Pegida (Patriotic Europeans against the Islamisation of the West), where protestors regularly wave placards of Merkel dressed in Islamic garb.

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